Tell Us About Your Negative Experiences With Table Mates

[barbmac]

On my last cruise, I went with a girlfriend. We went up to the lido deck to have lunch, they were no empty tables. They was a man sitting alone at a table, he said we could join him. He started talking about he could arrange it so we were no longer alone. When my friend joined us, he said his wife was in their cabin, but she was sick. He said what she didn't know wouldn't hurt her:eek:. Needless to say we very quickly got up and left. We saw that guy constantly all week long. He was always staring at us.:rolleyes: The funny thing is we are no spring chickens. both of us are in our 40's

[WaitintoCruiseAgain]

Last fall my husband and I were on the Carnival Liberty. We had a table for 4, but the first two nights we ate alone. The third night our "charming" dinner companions showed up. She was diabetic and came to dinner to see what she planned to order, then proceded to pull up her shirt at the table and give herself an insulin injectiion in the stomach. He was very loud and obsessed with social classes. He had sailed once before on the Queen Mary, and evidently felt like he didn't belong. Well as we know Carnival isn't like that, and everyone just mixes together. We skipped dinner in the dining room the 4th night, but we were all back together for the 5th night. That night she again pulled her shirt up and gave herself an injection in the stomach again after checking out the menu. He ordered two orders of very rare lamb chops. I'm not a vegetarian, but probably should be. I can't stand blood. My husband looked at me, and suggested that maybe I should go lay down for a while. I barely made it to the cabin. Luckily we didn't eat together the last night. I'm sure they were nice people, but it wasn't a great dining experience.

[fridayeyes]

I was looking for a particular post - and it's not here - but this thread is WAYYYY too funny not to go 'round again.

 

Looking forward to more stories!

 

Enjoy!

[MrCo9]

On my last cruise the lady next to me expected me to listen to EVERYTHING she said, reply with a well thought out answer, hold her hand, tell her how pretty she was.... Next time I'm cruising without my wife.

[LemurCat]

LOL Being from Maine I get some doozies too! Are all your roads dirt? Do you have indoor plumbing???? :eek: WHAT??! It always amazes me.

 

And you all live down the road from Stephen King. :p

 

I get that a lot too, "You're from New Jersey? Do you know Bruce Springstein and Bon Jovi?"

[MrCo9]

Everyone in Montana is a member of an extremist militia. I once had table mates from all these states so that's how I know.:D

Montana? I think you mean Idaho, that's where most of them are.

[gwe21]

on our most recent cruise in March there was a lady that ended up sitting with us at breakfast and lunch somehow (coincidence) and ALL she did was talk politics the ENTIRE time and bashed everything she could.

 

phew.. if I wanted to listen to that I could have stayed home!! She just didnt shut up so we ignored her.

 

 

a few years ago my husband and I were seated at a table of 2 women in their 60's. Now they were nice enough, but we had NOTHING in common and we ended up not even going to the dining room after the 2nd night.

[SAC69]

My wife and I were on the Triumph last week and were seated at a table for eight. We thought hey let's meet some new people rather than sit at a table for two. There were only two other couples at the table and I also wonder how they pair people up. They must computer profile you from the data they ask for, but I don't remember being asked what your occupation is as it turned out that my wife and the other two ladies were teachers. Fine I thought, a good start, except the ladies never got to connect on that topic due to the fact that one of the husbands could not shut up. The only time he stopped talking (about himself or his family) was to put food in his mouth and then continue to talk as he chewed. I attempted to wedge in a comment or a subject change but he would drag the conversation back to him. The other husband did not even attempt to say a word the whole meal.

 

Well needless to say I was not going to put up with that the whole cruise so we were reseated at a table for two directly above them the next night. We had a ball watching as couples would appear one night and be gone the next the rest of the cruise. The last night it was just this guy and his wife.

[SMSACE6]

Ok, here is my one semi negative experience. About 8 years ago I went on a cruise with my parents, they were then in their early 70,s and I mid 40,s. The first night at the dining table there was a couple about my parents age, and a younger couple about my age. The younger couple were friendly, but the older couple were very strange. The man barely spoke to anyone and the woman spoke mostly gibberish. It was not a language issue. but it made things a bit uncomfortable for all. The second night the older couple didnt show up. The younger couple showed up and made apologies, saying they had changed tables, and it wasnt because of us. So for the next two night My parents and I sat alone at the big table. On the 5th night a couple on their honeymoon, maybe late twenties, early thirties showed up at our table, saying that they had had a very bad table for the first few nights. You would think we would have nothing in common to talk about, but at least for the last three nights of the cruise we had pleasant company at our table, and the young folks seemed to enjoy our company as well. So it started out a bit weird, but in the end we had nice tablemates. ( It wasnt Carnival, by the way! ):D

[CruizinMom2c]

And you all live down the road from Stephen King. :p

 

I get that a lot too, "You're from New Jersey? Do you know Bruce Springstein and Bon Jovi?"

 

That is the only reason I have ever been to Maine..we went to visit his house :rolleyes: (My mom was a big Stephen King fan)

[Raven Days]

On Legend last year there was a couple in their mid 50's sitting at the next table. She looked like Hyacinth off of Keeping Up Appearances for those who watch that show - she was in her best diamonds and looked like she should be on the QEII Captain's Table. Anyhow the waiters started their dancing with wigs and costumes - she looked mortified that people were acting so common. The best part of it all is that her husband jumped up and joined the conga line - she was shooting daggers at him with her looks - she was clearly embarassed and too good for such displays.

 

OMG!!! I know this was written more then 2 or 3 years ago...but I loved that show! It wa one of the few English speaking shows that I could get when I lived off post in Germany or visited in France!!!!!

[Attack Dog]

Montana? I think you mean Idaho, that's where most of them are.

 

Unibomber

[palmbaytish]

When my husband and I were on our honeymoon on the Inspiration in 2002, we were seated at a table with an older lady (in her 60's) and her son. She was nice enough at first, but she had a very odd manner about her and she wore this hot pink lipstick that COATED her teeth. Unfortunately, I tend to hyperfixate on things and I could not help but be drawn to the lipstick issue, but that was compounded by the fact that it was applied in a manner similar to Bette Davis in "Whatever Happened to Baby Jane". Her son was not very social at all and it was just an awkward dinner. My husband and I asked to be moved to a table for 2, so we could enjoy each other's company. I realize it was a trivial issue, but lipstick on the teeth (all over) is just one of those things I can't stand.

[westview1]

But my parents had my personal favorite. You know how you can buy a bottle of wine and they'll store it for you until you finish it? Mom ordered a bottle one night at dinner and they poured her a glass. After she finished her glass, they poured her a second one. After the waiter left, one of the women at the table turns to Mom (mind you, this was the first night of the cruise) and says "Are you a drunk?" Poor Mom was flabbergasted. Says, "Excuse Me?" The woman then says, "You already HAD one glass of wine - clearly if you need a second, you have a problem?" Can you IMAGINE? So lucky I wasn't there for that one, likely to have spent the night in the brig.

 

She would love sitting with me. Having wine with dinner every night is one of my favorite things to do on a cruise. :)

[midnightferret]

Just popping in to say that I haven't cruised yet, but I would love to be table mates with any of you. (Even you and your well-behaved children. Hee hee!)

 

Just don't talk politics, religion, race, occupation, money, or be overly self-obsessed. Also, don't screw up my table space or engage in bodily functions best kept in private. Oh, and don't be too loud. Or too quiet. And pay attention to your personal grooming. Sit up straight. Eat your vegetables...

 

Hey. I've turned into my mother in my 30s! These are all things she told me to do! :D Maybe it's because I'm from the South and I'm just too simple to think people wouldn't bring their manners to the table... :D

[idreaminpink]

Oooh what a great thread, wish I'd caught it the first time around :) I've been on 4 cruises but only one that didn't have anytime dining of some sort. My worst fears were realized on that cruise.... horrible table mates. It was an 8 topper with me and my husband, my parents, and 2 other couples. One was a couple in their 50's-60's and the other couple was in their late 30's. The older couple was quiet and hardly talked. The other couple was one of those drama filled couples that thrived on fighting/bickering with each other, and they were huge drinkers. One night the woman came to dinner so drunk she nearly passed out at the table and was quite belligerent, which just made the bickering worse and less coherent lol. It was a full cruise and they couldn't move all 4 of us together, so after the 3rd night I think we just ate at the buffet the rest of the trip until the last night :( To be honest this cruise was on RCCL and the food in the dining room was just mediocre in my opinion anyway, and I was so surprised that there was no singing or dancing during dinner! lol

[angiegal]

Fridayeyes, I've been tempted to tell people that I am a stripper too. (Really) When I tell someone I am a police officer I usually get stereotyped and people start acting differently towards me. I usually say I work for the city.

 

Try telling people you're a minister. All of a sudden, everyone at the table is afraid to do anything, even breathe! The worst was a woman who elbowed her husband in the ribs when he tried to eat his bread. She said, "wait until they bless our meal". I felt so bad because we really made her nervous- she got more comfortable as the week went on. At one point the husband asked if DH would come to the casino with him because he couldn't seem to win any money :D I know most people just don't want to offend us, but, for the record, we're normal people... you don't have to be on you best behavior for us! Now my husband says, "I'm on vacation! I don't want to talk about work" If someone keeps pushing the issue he'll break down and tell them and the wait for the reaction. He's a big, scary-looking bald guy so I often wonder if they think he's lying.

[tea4ular]

On our honeymoon, sailing out of New Orleans on the Imagination...horribly racist family, making disparaging comments about anyone and everyone of color...my H & I sat in stunned horror...afterward we retreated to our cabin, and my H looked at me and said..."it just didn't seem like the time to discuss my Bar Mitzvah" I almost fell over laughing! We made a beeline to the dining room manager and requested a private table, which we were granted.

[TNana]

On Legend last year there was a couple in their mid 50's sitting at the next table. She looked like Hyacinth off of Keeping Up Appearances for those who watch that show - she was in her best diamonds and looked like she should be on the QEII Captain's Table. Anyhow the waiters started their dancing with wigs and costumes - she looked mortified that people were acting so common. The best part of it all is that her husband jumped up and joined the conga line - she was shooting daggers at him with her looks - she was clearly embarassed and too good for such displays.

 

If you are going to cruise leave your diamonds at home. You can look nice without all the elaborate getup and IF they are real they may bet lost or stolen.. On our first cruise we were placed at a table with two other couples who clearly wanted everyone to know how much money they had or pretended to have. All they could talk about was the mink coats they were buying in St John to have shipped home and about how much they were tipping the bar staff. I hated every meal we had with them and that was only two. We asked to be seated at another table.

[TNana]

It's actually amazing how some people change once they step on a cruise ship. They start ordering the employees around and start acting like their Sh$* doesn't stink. And usually they can't afford the cruise to begin with. I hate people that put on aires. You are who you are and that's that.;)

 

 

Amen!! Just be yourself. You'll have more fun that way.

[izmeeh]

At all-you-can-eat buffets and on cruises, it's great if you can eat a lot. You will get to try out so many dishes. It's a great advantage. I find it wrong, however, for people to order 5 different dishes knowing that they can't eat all that much. They end up eating about 1/5 of the food. It's great to having choices and sampling different food. It's just so wrong to waste food like that.

[palmbaytish]

I was telling my husband about these stories last night and he is really looking forward to seeing who we will be sat with. I am an extrovert, him a little bit less so and we always enjoy meeting new people. That being said, is it totally horrible of me to keep my fingers crossed that we get soem rather entertaining characters our first night? Last night he dreamed we were sat with 2 older couples, drunk as monkeys who were EXACTLY like George Costanza's parents from "Seinfeld".

[True Texan]

We have been so lucky. We have been on 5 cruises and have had no major problems with tablemates. There are some we have more in common with but all in all we have enjoyed our experiences. I have stayed in touch with 3 couples (tablemates) from past cruises through Facebook and email.

[True Texan]

On our honeymoon, sailing out of New Orleans on the Imagination...horribly racist family, making disparaging comments about anyone and everyone of color...my H & I sat in stunned horror...afterward we retreated to our cabin, and my H looked at me and said..."it just didn't seem like the time to discuss my Bar Mitzvah" I almost fell over laughing! We made a beeline to the dining room manager and requested a private table, which we were granted.

 

 

I love tlhis. Your husband must have a wonderful sense of humor.

[dobelover]

Just got back from a wonderful 12 nighter. And after approximately 30 cruises on many different lines I finally had the table mates from :eek:. We were at a 6 top, myself, sister and her husband, all in our late 50s. Joining us was a 40ish couple who made dinner seem like we were watching a cable news show. All they did was talk about themselves, their opinions, themselves, their previous cruise experiences, themselves...... Never once did they ask us any questions or pay attention when we attempted to share an experience. 40 or 50 minutes into dinner we were joined by an older woman traveling alone. She was drunk! Not a big deal but it sure was a surprise cause we thought she had vision problems. What gave her away was the sad tale of an unhappy home life.

We agreed to tip our waiters as if we had been with them the entire time and ate in the buffet or specialty restaurant for the remainer of the cruise.